Conferences and Installation

Each year CERC holds a Reformation Day Conference (RDC), and the youth have their own RDC as well.  On November 1, Rev. & Mary Haak were in Singapore on their way to India on behalf of Georgetown Church.  Rev. Haak spoke for the Youth RDC, giving a presentation on the work in India and then a speech on missions from Psalm 96.

The next weekend, Rev. & Sharon Kleyn flew in from the Philippines for the regular two-day, three-speech Reformation Day Conference.  This year's theme was "The Reformation and the Development of the Truth."

Dinner before the Friday evening speech

Book sales table

Good turnout at the speeches

On Sunday Rev. Kleyn also officiated at my husband's installation into the office of minister here in CERC.  For the past two years he has been a minister-on-loan from the Protestant Reformed Churches.  Now he has become the minister of CERC, and our family's membership papers transfer from Grandville PRC to Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church of Singapore.

Rev. Kleyn reading the installation form

The congregation

Answering the questions in the form

Signing the Formula of Subscription

These were all joyful events in the life of the congregation.  May God bless all of them for the good of His church in Singapore.

The Philippines (2)

The other highlight of our trip to the Philippines, besides meeting God's people there, was spending time with the Kleyns and Smits.

On a hill in the missionaries' subdivision

Two of the men deep in discussion

Hard at work in the Kleyns' house

Rebekah, Irene, and Rosalyn Smit with Jessica

Kindergarteners--Ryan Smit and Megan Lanning

Football on the beach

Subic Bay 

Kleyn, Smit, and Lanning families

One thing that stood out to us in the Philippines was the religion there.  Over 85% of the population there is Roman Catholic.  We went inside a Roman Catholic cathedral and watched people bowing down to statues of Jesus and Mary; we also heard about how, on All Saints Day, the Filipino Roman Catholics will spend the night in the cemetery with their deceased relatives and put offerings out for them.  We were astounded at how similar the Roman Catholicism there is to the Buddhism here in Singapore!  Different gods, same form of worship.

Walking towards the cathedral in Antipolo

Open idolatry

Priest sprinkling "holy water" on the worshipers

We got to take a trike ride, a very popular form of transportation in the Philippines, and also experienced the Philippines traffic!

Walking in the city of Antipolo to try to find three trikes for our whole group

We crammed three people into the sidecar of each trike, 

and had two people sitting behind the driver.

Taking off down the road and around the corner

We enjoyed our trike rides--quite an experience. :-)

Philippines traffic

People selling things among all the traffic

A few more sights from some of our drives:

People crowded onto the back of a jeepney,
another form of public transportation there

We also were able to see some of the incredible beauty of God's creation.

Taal Volcano

Tropical plants

Subic Bay meeting the ocean

Sunset on Subic Bay 

(photo by Rev. Kleyn)

We are thankful that we were able to spend this time in the Philippines.  Please remember in prayer God's saints and His servants in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines (1)

We just returned to Singapore after spending eight days in the Philippines.  One of the highlights of our trip was getting to know some of the saints in the churches there. Our first opportunity to do this came last Thursday night, when my husband and I went with Rev. & Sharon Kleyn to a class at Provident Christian Church.  Rev. Kleyn is teaching Essentials of Reformed Doctrine, and the class Thursday was about God's Church.

Walking into the church

Rev. Kleyn with Rico, one of the men from Provident

Food and fellowship after the class

On Sunday Rev. Kleyn preached in Singapore, and Sharon took us to two different churches. My husband preached in Bulacan in the morning.  On the way to church (about an hour and a half drive), we got caught in a lot of traffic by a market that was open next to a big church so that the church people could shop when their service was finished.

We finally did arrive at the church in Bulacan.

The street the church is on

Jessica crossing the street to enter the church

Jason making new friends after the service

Many pictures were taken in both churches on Sunday!

My husband with the consistory of Bulacan--

Pastor Flores is next to him, in the gray shirt.

Group photo

The first service in Bulacan was at 8:30 a.m., and we left just before the second service, which was going to start at 10:45.  We drove to Berean PRC, about an hour and a half drive from Bulacan, for their 1:30 service.

This is where the Berean PRC is currently meeting.  

They are building a new church next door.

There were many visitors, so the building was very full.

Me with some of the women after church

A couple of moms with the kids in Berean

I cannot describe the feeling of worshiping in these places, with groups of God's people in another land wholeheartedly singing the same praises to Him that we sing in Singapore and in the U.S.  The class on Thursday and the services on Sunday were truly blessed experiences.